Everton have seen many people come and go from the Merseyside club in recent months, not just in terms of players but also some figures behind the scenes.
In terms of the players who have come to Goodison Park side in recent times, one man on whom the club have struck gold is Demarai Gray.
In the summer of 2021, the Toffees struck a deal worth a reported £1.7m to sign the winger from Bayer Leverkusen, for whom he left Leicester City the previous January.
Since becoming an Everton player, the Englishman has made 46 appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring eight goals and providing five assists along the way.
Praised by Garth Crooks for his “electric” performances for his current club, Gray now has 30 senior goals to his name throughout his career.
Last season saw the 26-year-old showcase his attacking talent by ending the Premier League campaign with more shot-creating actions (83) and more successful dribbles (47) than any other player at Everton. In addition, only Richarlison (70) had more shots at goal than Gray (65), who also only had Anthony Gordon (71) delivering more crosses than him (57) among the Toffees’ squad.
Having started all six of Everton’s league games so far this term, it’s safe to say that the winger is highly rated by Frank Lampard and a key player for the 44-year-old, which makes sense given the attacking skills that he displayed throughout 2021/22.
Taking all this into account, especially the bargain transfer fee that the Toffees paid for him, this deal has been a very successful one for the club and the player, and it shows that Premier League sides don’t always have to shell out huge amounts of money to sign good players who can add a lot to the team.
